NFT, Digitized, tokenized, accessible art
What’s an NFT?
If you’ve never heard of cryptocurrencies or the blockchain then you may not be familiar with what NFTs are. NFT stands for non-fungible token. Something that is fungible can be replaced by an identical replica. Whereas something that is non-fungible cannot. A token is a digital asset stored in your wallet. A wallet is an account similar to online checking. It holds your items and allows you to send or receive tokens amongst other things.
NFTs are tokens that store unique sets of data which are accounted for in a digital ledger or the blockchain. The tokens contain certified proof of ownership for whatever they hold. Like a deed. What’s cool about NFTs are the limitless possibilities. From luxury retail to sports and beyond. One example: sports teams are capturing moments, creating highlights and building communities all around NFTs. While digital artists like myself are creating and minting art for sale on digital marketplaces.
How to create an NFT
To get started creating NFTs it’s actually quite simple. You really only need one of the file formats that a marketplace requires. All you have to do is create an account, follow the steps in the user interface, upload your work and voila an NFT is created. If you want to take it a step further and really explore the boundaries of NFTs then you’ll want to get creative with your approach. Digital artists from all different types of disciplines are flocking to the NFT space because of its flexibility and low barrier to entry.
There are many styles of NFT artworks that can be created by numerous methods. From traditional drawing and painting styles, to more stylized computer based art all the way to completely computer based generative art and so on. The possibilities are really endless. I highly suggest just browsing the marketplaces to see what’s possible. I also highly suggest google the programming languages used to create NFTs and smart contracts.
How to promote an NFT
Headlines are screaming at the record breaking sales that have happened in the NFT space. With all due cause. They’re astronomical and really disrupting the art industry as a whole. Many people have flocked to creating NFTs as a way to not only create art and earn income but collect them as well. With so many people in the space it’s hard to stand out and get noticed. That’s why it’s critical when promoting NFTs to really be unique.
The idea is to stand out, identify an audience, build a community, figure out what part of the market you can address, lay a foundation, have a plan for scale, have a plan for marketing, consistently execute on that plan, tweak and adjust as you go a long, keep adding value, interact and engage with the community, share and provide insight, nurture your relationships, reach out for help where needed and always stay focused on your goals no matter how hard they might seem.
How to Buy and Sell NFTs
Creating is one thing. Collecting is another. Many people have flocked to this space solely as a collector. In fact collectors are the ones driving the market. In order to buy and sell NFTs you’ll need an account on a marketplace like you would as a creator. That account will require a wallet. The most popular one is Metamask. Some marketplaces require a small transaction for authentication purposes so you’ll need some ETH or whatever coin that marketplace accepts. You’ll also want to pay attention to drop calendars to try and spot collections before they moon!
In order to purchase coins for use in buying and selling NFTs you’ll require an account on an exchange. Coinbase is the most popular and one that I use. At the exchange is where you’ll buy the ETH and then transfer it to your Metamask wallet. You’ll use your wallets hash to send your cryptocurrencies for trading. Once it’s in your wallet, buying and selling is as easy as going to your preferred marketplace and making a purchase. Once bought a confirmation will appear and you’ll now be the proud owner of that NFT.
Top selling NFTs
NFTs have made the news time and time again for their record breaking sales. Here’s a list of some of the top selling NFTs and what they’re going for. You can easily see that this space has a lot of potential for growth.
10 Top selling NFTs
- Everyday’s – The First 5000 Days: $69,000,000
- CryptoPunk #3100: 4.200 ETH $7,580,00
- CryptoPunk #7804: 4,200 ETH $7,570,000
- Crossroads: $6,600,000
- Doge: 1696.9 ETH $4,000,000
- The First Twitter Tweet: $2,900,000
- The Best I Could Do: ($1,650,000
- CryptoPunk #6965: 800 ETH $1,540,000
- Axie Infinity Virtual Game “Genesis” Estate: $1,500,000
- Auction Winner Picks The Name: $1,330,000
NFT communities
Community building is one of the biggest parts of NFT success in my ultimate guide on how to promote an NFT. That’s because in order to really propel in space you need to connect. Conversations are happening all over the internet right now regarding NFTs. Most of the action is happening online in server rooms or on social media.
Top NFT communities
My NFT Collections
The reason I decided to start creating NFT art isn’t what you might think. I didn’t go down this road to be famous or sell millions of dollars in digital art. I did and still do it as therapy. Art has been used as a therapeutic medium for quite some time. The benefits have been proven over and over. As an adult I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve sought the help of professionals when I need to rely on their expertise. I am no stranger to a therapist’s office in person or virtual.
My NFT art is an exploration in feelings, emotions and ideas encapsulated in an experience. Which is why I resonate so much with this new medium. For me the tokenization of an idea creates a real tangible object like a painting on canvas. Through that object an observer can get a glimpse into who I am, what I feel and my perception of those feelings.
With each of my collections I chose a topic and explored ideas around it. My current collections are a representation of my earlier styles of work and pay homage to techniques I picked up as a graphic designer. Having experienced traditional art mediums I approach my productions in a similar manner. Treating each initial idea as the true original and then creating editions of those replications as you would a lithograph.
Like traditional lithography all of my work will be in limited runs and never reproduced. Therefore ensuring scarcity and ensuring that if you’re purchasing my NFTs you can be assured that you and you alone will have that specific one.